Off Harwich Massachusetts – May 19, 1946
F6F Hellcat
U.S. Navy Photo
On May 19, 1946, Lt. (Jg.) Richard M. Kimball took off from the Squantum Naval Air Station in an F6F-5 Hellcat, (Bu. No. 70556), for a routine training flight. His flight path took him over the water off the coast of Harwich, Massachusetts. There he encountered a fog bank lying three to five miles off shore, with a low cloud ceiling of 50 to 100 feet covering the entire area. As he was approaching the shoreline, he began attempting to drop below the cloud ceiling to obtain a visual reference with the ground and while doing so crashed into the water about one-quarter mile from shore. The aircraft broke apart on impact and Lt. (Jg.) Kimball was killed.
Source:
U. S. Navy accident report dated May 19, 1946
